Arc Minerals upbeat on 'game changing' anomalies at Zamsort
Arc Minerals announced the start of its exploration programme following the completion of its airborne geophysical programme and follow up analysis at the Zamsort Project in north western Zambia on Friday.
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The AIM-traded company said infill soil sampling had begun over the new target areas, with 1200 samples already completed.
It said the drilling of new targets would commence as soon as weather conditions allowed, with the board adding that target discovery areas had continued to exceed expectations.
The infill soil geochemical programme over the key target discovery areas would reduce the current spacing of one kilometre between profile lines to 200 metres, Arc Minerals said.
That further refinement of the soil geochemistry would enable more defined drilling of the targets.
Arc Minerals said the Cheyeza West target was approximately seven kilometres west of Cheyeza East, where historical drilling had intersected zones of pervasive copper mineralisation.
The Cheyeza West target area was characterised by a historic electromagnetic anomaly identified in the east, which possibly represented a conductive unit such as sulphide rich sediment.
It also had “well-defined” radiometric anomalies, both thorium and potassium, coincident with the historic electromagnetic anomaly.
A large three kilometre-by-three kilometre copper-in-soil anomaly had been identified with at least three identified localised highs with up to 504 ppm copper.
The airborne survey highlighted a four kilometre-by-six kilometre area of irregular magnetic response that was interpreted as a potential alteration zone
A recent preliminary field visit to the Cheyeza West target area noted the presence of sulphide pseudomorphs within altered calcareous sediments, which Arc said was a similar rock type that hosted other local copper deposits.
In addition, both co-incident historic electromagnetic, magnetic and radiometric anomalies had been identified over the central nine square kilometre area.
The Lumbeta target area - another one of the new target areas - was associated with the crest of a northerly plunging fold.
Structural features such as those were described by the board as “important”, as they could act as a mineralisation trap.
The Lumbeta target was also characterised by an almost 11 kilometre long elevated copper-in-soils anomaly with values up to 580 ppm copper, a large zone of irregular magnetic response possibly representing alteration, and several isolated but well defined historic electromagnetic anomalies.
Arc Minerals said the location of those new target areas appeared to be higher up in the stratigraphy in the central part of the license, which had not been previously explored.
The results had been reviewed by two leading independent geological consultancies, the board said.
“I am very pleased to have completed the follow up work on the new anomalies and to have commenced the soil sampling programme early having been able to access Cheyeza West during intermittent dry periods,” said Arc Minerals executive chairman Nick von Schirnding.
“As soon as weather conditions allow we shall be deploying rigs to Cheyeza West in the first instance and start our drilling programme.
“The Cheyeza West and Lumbeta anomalies, as highlighted on the attached map, are around 10 order of magnitudes larger than anything previously looked at in the Zamsort project area - and is a potential game changer for Arc Minerals.”